This page links to news of general
interest to the trans community during the second half of 2008.
This running log of news also serves as a window into areas of media focus and
public interest regarding trans issues during 2008. Let us know if you
hear of news to include in this list. To access to a wide range of trans news,
we recommend "Google News",
searching on keywords such as transgender, transsexual, sex reassignment, sex
change, gender variance and gender transition.

"It's a little-discussed fact that Pittsburgh has a long
history with cross-dressers and transgendered individuals. In fact, ask any
old timer, and you're sure to be regaled with storied memories of seeing the
most elegantly dressed cross-dressers either shopping or going about their
daily tasks Downtown for the better part of the past century." NEW

("Attracted to
transwomen? A common story" - " . . . a heterosexual man is attracted to
transwomen. And it is not a rare story, or rather, it seems that is a lot
more common that many think.") (Note: you can obtain a readable translation
by using Freetranslation.com)
NEW

"We realize that
any admission that the APA had published false GID prevalence numbers would
be a great embarrassment for all involved. However, all scientists have a
professional duty to admit mistakes in published data, calculations or
analyses. To do otherwise leads to further falsifications and denials – and
only delays the inevitable exposure of the errors. "

“The same way
that I don't want to be thought of as a horror writer, I don't want to be
thought of as a gay writer, or 'that transsexual writer.' In interviews it's
something I shy away from addressing directly."

"For the first step in the analysis of the contributors, I
have limited this to visits prior to the site's publication. Two of the key
participants,
Denise
Tree and
Jenn Ross,
have been identified by name. Another contributor has asked to remain
anonymous. If you have received email from these IP addresses or have
forum or blog replies indicating they were posted from these IPs, please
contact me." (IP address analyses
are now revealing those who fabricated the
transkids.us hoax)

"The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is
being revised under a cloak of confidentiality. Critics say the process
needs to be open, and cite potential conflicts of interest. . . .In his
recent book, "Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness," Christopher
Lane traces how shyness morphed from a character trait into a pathological
condition called "social phobia," which the DSM defines as "fears that he or
she may do something or act in a way that will be humiliating or
embarrassing." With disorders so broadly drawn, Lane wonders, who among us
is sane?" (see also the related following article):

"This study was designed to investigate the impact of medical
terminology on perceptions of disease. . . Students considered the medical
label of the recently medicalized disease to be more serious . . ., more
representative of a disease . . ., and have lower prevalence . . . than the
same disease described using common language."

"Among the millions of new voters in Monday's Bangladeshi
elections will be some 100,000 hijras -- cross-dressing, pre- and
post-operative transsexuals -- allowed to cast ballots for the first time. .
. officials were still trying to figure out exactly how hijras would cast
their votes . . . "We . . . eventually decided that hijras must go to
the line that we think suits them best. The more feminine ones will be in
the ladies' line while the ones who seem more manly will be in with the
men.""

(Note how the press persists in using the defamatory British
colonial word "eunuch" when referring to transgender women in India and
Bangladesh)

"Jennifer E. Ross, also known as Jennifer S. Davis (born
November 11, 1969) is a Canadian software developer and computer technician
involved in the transkids.us hoax. Transkids.us is a website allegedly
written by and about transgender minors. . . Ross (age 39 in 2008) . . . is
typical of the people associated with the transkids.us hoax."

"Church of Scotland minister and former city council leader
Ewan Aitken has accused the Pope of teaching death rather than love. It
follows Pope Benedict XVI's end-of-year address which provoked anger from
gay campaigners, who interpreted him as arguing that "saving" humanity from
homosexual or transsexual behaviour was as important as saving the
rainforests."

"I want to use this as an opportunity to educate the public
at large. Everything else is circumstantial," says the 24-year-old former
Palm Beach Community College student, who makes her debut on Jan. 7 as the
first ever transsexual cast member on MTV's
reality stalwart
The
Real World, on
its
21st season."

""I am a transvestite with a career. You can't afford to
screw around," Izzard says during a telephone interview. . . "Think about
it. There are not many of us from the transgender community who have been
able to stick our heads up and say 'Yes, I am here' and then keep your thing
going."

"After waiting nearly 30 years, Sogand finally became the
person she dreamt of. . . Every year, about 80 people undergo sex
reassignment surgery in Iran, 90 per cent of which are male to female cases,
said an official of the Legal Medicine (Forensics) Organisation"

"Last year was a bad enough year for homosexuals in Italy. .
." The number of violent attacks in the country against gays and their
organizations has risen dramatically . . . "All signs are pointing towards a
confrontation," said Mancuso. "People are really scared." (more,
more)

"It is not man who decides. It is God who decides who is man
and who is woman," the Pope warned, as he discredited the theory that some
people are born with the genitalia of one sex but the mentality of the
other" (An example of how the Pope's words will be used to spread
transphobia in traditional societies)

"CHENNAI: Around 20,000 transgenders, kothis and marginalised
women from across the State have come together to set up a federation that
will deal exclusively with their needs including healthcare, education,
advocacy and financial literacy."

"Critics of the
Church hierarchy see such pronouncements as proof of Catholicism's unhealthy
"obsession" with sexual matters. . . Why, for example, does he not use his
Christmas address to boldly condemn
Robert Mugabe, whose brutal dictatorship has left a largely Christian
country crushed and struggling with
a cholera outbreak that has already killed more than 1,000 people?"

"He explained that defending God's creation was not limited
to saving the environment, but also about protecting man from
self-destruction . . .Pope Benedict XVI warned that gender theory blurred
the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the
"self-destruction" of the human race."

(Hmm. Now he's proclaiming that gender variance and
transsexualism could lead to the end of humanity. Sounds like
Paul McHugh coached the Pope on his Christmas speech this year!)

" Rev Sharon Ferguson, said: "It is more the case that we
need to be saved from his comments. . .There are still so many instances of
people being killed around the world, including in western society, purely
and simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.
When you have religious leaders like that making that sort of statement then
followers feel they are justified in behaving in an aggressive and violent
way because they feel that they are doing God's work in ridding the world of
these people.""

"Jennifer’s
voice rang through Austin Council Chamber doors every week, often times in
support of the homeless population of which she was a part . . . Her death
points to critical problems faced by the homeless, and especially by
homeless women and the transgender homeless. “Jennifer most nights slept
outdoors,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “Jennifer, we believe, is the 136th
person who has died sleeping on the streets (of Austin) over the last 12
months.”

"For nearly a year, Catherine Carlson refused to pay the fine
for driving with a suspended license because it was issued to both her and
the man she used to be." (see also
The
Olympian, which broke this story on 12-13-08)

"Susana Martinez
is a former prostitute who now helps to run the Sandra Cabrera health centre
in the city. . . It was set up two years ago, with the help of the local
authorities, after prostitutes, rent-boys, transvestites and transsexuals
complained they were suffering discrimination in the public hospitals."

"Much of the apparent absence of trans people from the
struggle for marriage equality is due to the 40 years of ostracism from the
gay rights movement of those whose gender identities are considered
problematic. . . Within the LGBQ community, the mention of the word trans is
often enough to demote the person from a real, “biological” human being to
some medical miracle, the perverse stepchild of mental confusion and modern
science." (an important essay on why trans people have been excluded from
the marriage equality fight, and on why they should participate.)

Equality Texas mourns the death of Jennifer Gale,
a 47-year-old transgender homeless woman who died yesterday. Jennifer's body
was found Wednesday morning. She was lying in an outdoor walkway at the
First English Lutheran Church in Central Austin . . . "The Salvation Army
(the only shelter in town that takes in women) would not let her in there
unless she was grouped with the men (which includes sleeping with, and
showering with, other homeless men)."Gale

"The last-minute Bush administration declaration lets
doctors, clinics, receptionists and others refuse to give care they find
morally objectionable. . . The rule says providers -- including hospitals,
clinics, universities, pharmacies and doctor's offices -- can be charged
with discrimination if an employee is pressured to participate in care that
is "contrary to their religious beliefs or moral convictions."" (As a result
of Bush's action, trans people whose medical records reveal their pasts now
face open discrimination and shunning by religious health care workers.).

". . . these authors take serious liberty in order to
sensationalize and play on our fascination with gender non-conformity.
Girl Boy Girl and the entire JT Leroy charade is just another example of
this, except taken up a notch. This time, it wasn’t just fiction, but it was
an entire fictionalized persona. As a result Knoop’s book is even more
irritating and insulting."

"Getting in
touch with your feminine side could be a weekend thing with news that
scientists at the Edinburgh Institute for the Sexually Confused have created
a drug which allows temporary sex-changes" (It helps to keep a sense of
humor about all this!)

"The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual
as “strong and persistent cross-gender identification,” is already burning
hot among transgender people. Soon after the psychiatric association named
the group of researchers working on sexual and gender identity, advocates
circulated online petitions objecting to two members whose work they
considered demeaning." (i.e.,
Zucker and
Blanchard)

"Ms. Gale, 47, a transgendered homeless former Marine, had
run unsuccessfully for numerous public offices in Austin and Dallas. She
finished ninth out of 11 candidates in the 2007 race for Dallas mayor." (more,
more,
more)

"Maddie
(born Adam Blaustein) might be the most recognizable transgender voice on
the planet, from her roles as
Meowth
on Pokemon,
and Solomon Moto on Yu-Gi-Oh, not to mention dozens of other anime and video
games. She was also a writer for Milestone Comics, penning issues of Static
and Hardware, as well as the limited series Deathwish." (for more about
Maddie, see the
Pokemon main page on Bulbapedia)

"Most children dream of possessing the magical ability to
fly, to be invisible, or to talk to animals. But as a young boy growing up
in Jefferson City, Mo., Emeri Burks wished only to be a girl.” (includes
wonderful video commentary by Emeri)

"The comedian's transsexual talent show winner is taking on
Alexandra Burke for the festive top spot . . . Sentimental, certainly;
cruel, perhaps, but Kay's homespun down-to-earth laughs have always left the
audience with a warm glow, not a cold sneer. Could the nation's favourite
have misjudged his audience? Time will soon tell." (see video)

"Denise Tree
(aka Kiira Triea), the 57-year-old computer technician who is author of the
transkids.us hoax site, has just completed her one-year probation
stemming from some legal troubles in 2005. Now another victim of Denise’s
online hoaxes has come forward. . ."

"For nearly a year, Catherine Carlson refused to pay the fine
for driving with a suspended license because it was issued to both her and
the man she used to be. She went to jail four times over the ticket that
includes both her legal name and the one she was born with, Daniel Carlson.
She had surgery 28 years ago to become a woman . . . (and) legally changed
her name in the 1970s, but police and court records include both in this
rural farming and ranching community . . ."The ticket was the last straw,"
Carlson said." (This case shows how blind bureaucracies can stigmatize
transitioners and doom them to marginalization. Hope that some folks can
reach out and help Catherine)

". . . to introduce “this theory into public schools would
only be justified if the sole purpose were to educate the young generation
in the self-determination of their own sexual identity . . . opening the
door to the acceptance of any form a affective relationships and sexual
practice (homosexual, bisexual, transsexual).”" NEW

"We have put together a FFS focused website that we hope will
act as a resource for all patients. . . It includes travel information,
photos, and other helpful information. We hope you will spread the word
about this site and we'll continue to make improvements!" (see especially
the many photos at
this link, which clarify the remarkable benefits of FFS)

"If you have
a goal of going to “Dr. O” for facial feminization surgery (FFS), you
have two more years to schedule it. Pioneering facial feminization
surgeon Douglas K. Ousterhout plans to retire approximately two years
from now, in January 2011. He will continue his practice through 2009
and 2010. This was confirmed today by his office manager,
Mira Coluccio."

"UK-based web hosting provider Memset (www.memset.com)
announced on Wednesday that its co-founder and managing director,
Kate Craig-Wood, has won the
Demeter award at the 2008 NatWest Everywoman National Awards. . . The
NatWest Everywoman National Awards was founded six years ago by Everywoman,
an organization for women in business, to showcase the successes of female
business owners, many of whom have overcome significant hurdles to get to
where they are, says the organization. As entrepreneurial women go,
Craig-Wood bears the unusual distinction of having been an entrepreneur
previous to having been a woman; Craig-Wood underwent gender reassignment
surgery in 2005. Perhaps ironically, she says she has since encountered
challenges trying to be taken seriously as a woman in a male-dominated
industry. Those challenges may make Craig-Wood further emblematic of some of
the spirit of the awards."

"A Guildford woman has revealed how a sex change has helped
her conquer the business world. Kate Craig-Wood was a man up until three
years ago, but last week she was named one of the main winners at the
NatWest Everywoman Awards." (Note the disrespectful spin in this article,
and the great contrast in tone with the WHIR News article above )

"One year ago we
published the first Bulletin T-Informa of Trans Secretariat of ILGA, with
the idea to create an space of interaction for trans collective, give
information of trans global identity and also be a reference for the trans
community. In this year we had learnt a lot, had been a personal and
collective learning. Looking for give a voice to trans community we had talk
about different trans personalities, we had published articles and
interviews, also letters and other contributions, we relieve not only
contemporary people, also some personalities that are part of the past to
remember their contributions to trans visibility and also in the fight for
the respect of human rights for trans population."

"No one had ever
asked, so we had no policy," recalls Jim Meyerhoff, assistant director of
the WIAA - the governing body for all Washington state high school sports.
"But when we got four requests in one year, our board and executive director
felt the need to explore the situation."

"“I want to live
a life of dignity.” “Is the society thinking why we are begging or into sex
trade?” “When will the society stop ridiculing us?” These were some of the
concerns raised by the marginalised communities on Wednesday, observed as
the Human Rights Day. . . Though a government order says that transgenders
be given seats in educational institutions, there is still a big difficulty
faced by this community as they are not able to change their male names into
female names due to complex procedures involved. This is a major obstacle
when they want to pursue their career and academic dreams."

"Haworth's
documentary SHE'S A BOY I KNEW begins in 2000 with Steven Haworth's decision
to come out to his family about his life-long female gender identity. The
resulting auto-ethnography is not only an exploration into the filmmaker's
process of transition from biological male to female, from Steven to Gwen,
but also an emotionally charged account of the individual experiences,
struggles, and stakes that her two sisters, mother, father, best friend and
wife brought to Gwen's transition."

Note: Social
mobbing, where multiple random people join in on a mob-attack, is a common
way to ostracize demonized people in traditional societies (as in medieval
Europe and in many conservative regions today). It is one of the most feared
situations transpeople face in such societies.

"Gender assignment can be difficult when a child is born with
a disorder of sex development. Obviously, clinicians and parents try to make
the decision that is right for the child. Despite the best efforts of
caregivers, however, occasionally a child with a DSD will announce a desire
to change gender." (A discussion of gender reassignment in intersex people
who reject their birth assignment. Note the promotion of the DSD terminology
by the author)

"A coalition of gay rights groups has put out the statement
below, protesting the Vatican's opposition to an international effort to
decriminalize homosexuality. . ."As faith leaders we were shocked by Vatican
opposition to this proposed initiative. By refusing to sign a basic
statement opposing inhumane treatment of LGBT people, the Vatican is sending
a message that violence and human rights abuses against LGBT people are
acceptable."

"City mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale on Tuesday
promised to look into matters concerning the 5,000-strong transgender
community in the city. She assured members of the community that she would
explore the possibility of giving them some kind of identification, so that
they can lead a dignified life. . . It was a moving experience not just for
the mayor, who heard their woes, but also for members of the transgender
community, as they fought to keep back their tears."
(an important story out of India)

"Two San Rafael
parents are upset by a school policy that allows students who identify as a
different gender to use the restrooms and locker rooms assigned to that
gender. . . But San Rafael school officials say the policy is in keeping
with state law . . ."A subject's discomfort does not have the same
legitimacy on a legal basis as supporting the rights of an individual," said
Dome, the district's legal counsel. "Based on a substantial legal record,
the district must allow access to transgendered students.""

"This study
explores the childhood experiences of transgender adults, experiences of
parents who are raising or who have raised a child with gender variance and
opinions of professionals working with the transgender community. . . This
study will provide research-based evidence with which to support the parents
and their children, provide advocacy and enhance current trans-positive
guidelines and contribute to trans-positive education models, training and
guidelines for working with GV children" (link
to participate in survey)

"TransTorah's
mission is to help people of all genders to fully access and transform
Jewish tradition, and to help Jewish communities be welcoming sanctuaries
for people of all genders."
(www.transtorah.org)

"In the largely
indigenous communities in and around the town of Juchitán, the world is not
divided simply into gay and straight. While Mexico can be intolerant of
homosexuality; it can also be quite liberal. In Mexico City, for instance,
same-sex domestic partnerships are legally recognized. But nowhere are
attitudes toward sex and gender quite as elastic as in towns like Juchitán
in the far reaches of the southern state of Oaxaca." [A wonderful series of
captioned photos by Katie Orlinsky of the Muxes (transgender women) of
Oaxaca]

"The Federal
Government's human rights arm plans to invent a new official status called
"intersex" adding it to male and female as a legally recognised gender. The
Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission wants people to be able to
change their gender on their passports and driving licences even if they do
not undergo surgery." (more,
more)

"Young teenagers
with extreme gender identity disorder should be given drugs to block puberty
so that they don't have to experience distressing changes to their bodies
which they perceive to be out of line with their true gender. So say
draft international guidelines (pdf format) issued by the Endocrine
Society this week – the first to offer advice to doctors on this
controversial issue. . . The recommendations are largely based on the
experience of a clinic in the Netherlands where doctors have so far
prescribed puberty blockers to more than 70 under-16s. The youngest they
have treated is 11, although the majority are 12 or over. "We don't have any
patient who has regretted their decision on the treatment," says Henriette
Delemarre-van de Waal of Leiden University Medical Centre. . ."

(Note that
Zucker is
not even mentioned in this important science news article. At long last the
care of youngsters who experience intense gender dysphoria is emerging out
from under the institutional control of the
reparatists.)

""I was sick and
tired of reading from my memoir. I wanted to write a fairy tale," says
Ewert. "So I wrote the first draft of a transgender book for kids." . . .
His protagonist is a child who dreams about climbing a staircase lined with
magical dresses. He found the perfect gender-neutral name, Bailey, in a
baby-naming book. Bailey feels like a girl, though her parents keep
insisting otherwise."

(Note the rather
cool coincidence in the naming of the transgender child in this new
children's book.) (Amazon
page,
FaceBook page)

11-29-08: Express Buzz (re Nepal): "Sunil Pant: Face of freedom" -
"Sunil Pant is a strong advocate of LGBT rights in the
region. Having founded the Blue Diamond Society in 2001, he has played an
important role in the Nepal Supreme Court’s decision to respect sexual
orientation and legally identify members of the third gender. Recently the
court also ruled in favour of same-sex marriage." (interview about advances
in legal rights for LGBT people in Nepal, with commentary on the situation
in India) (see also "Nepal’s
gay MP fights for transgenders", posted 11-15-08)

11-29-08: Science News (issue of Dec 6, 2008): ""Your body is mine"
- "A new experiment indicates that, under the right
circumstances, people feel like they have swapped bodies with someone else .
. .It sounds like a lost episode of The Twilight Zone. A man enters a
laboratory, dons a special headset and shakes hands with a woman sitting
across from him. In a matter of seconds, he feels like he’s inside the
woman’s skin, reaching out and grasping his own hand. “Our subjects
experienced this illusion as being exciting and strange, and often said that
they wanted to come back and try it again,” says Petkova, who reported the
findings November 17 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience."

11-29-08: The Vancouver Sun (Canada): "B.C. Fed backs course" -
"The B.C. Federation of Labour has passed an emergency
resolution supporting a new high school course called Social Justice 12 and
accusing the Abbotsford board of education of "homophobic and transphobia
behaviour" for its refusal to offer the elective course this year.
(Transphobia refers to fear or hatred of transsexual or trans-gendered
persons.)"

11-26-08: GIDReform.org: "The Gender Gulag: Voices of the Asylum", by
Kelley Winters - "Our
country has abolished the atrocity of slavery, enacted civil liberties for
people of color and just this month elected our first African American
President of the United States. Yet, gender variant Americans are still
incarcerated in mental institutions and physically and emotionally assaulted
with drugs and “aversion therapies” for failing to comport to the roles of
their assigned birth-sex."

11-26-08: Newsday: "NY court removes bar to transgender name changes"
- "The Golden case, which will now be sent back to state Supreme Court in
Broome County, was brought by attorney Franklin Romeo of the New York
City-based Sylvia Rivera Law Project. . . The group says that under the law,
a judge cannot require medical evidence of a gender change to support name
changes, but some still make that mistake."

11-25-08: Latin American Herald Tribune (re Mexico): "Crying Game:
Mexico City Transsexuals Can Get New Gender IDs" - "Those eligible for the
benefit are those people who have a report issued by two specialists
certifying that they have undergone - or are in the process of undergoing -
a sex-change procedure, whether or not it involves surgery."

"The Institute
(Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency) had been formed to
examine the fringes of society. Founded during the political and social
upheaval of the interwar years, it dealt with those thrown up and then
tossed aside by a turbulent world, and its mainstay was troubled youth. The
clinic attracted the psychoanalytical superstars of the day . . . The
Institute saw cases of habitual criminality, desperate addiction, extreme
violence and sexual perversion. Today, 75 years later, under its less
revealing but more aesthetically pleasing name of the Portman Clinic, two
things have changed. The caseload has increased and there's a lot more sex.

". . . I asked
whether it would be possible to speak to a patient, or hear a specific case
study. . . I was told this would be out of the question. . . . if a
patient believed that their case was being discussed with a stranger, or if
they even suspected that a disguised description might be depicting them,
then years of intricate work and hard-won trust could be jeopardised. . .
But Ruszczynski did give me a copy of an audit showing the reason that
patients were referred to the Portman. Most were there because of
'compulsive sexual behaviours' - fetishism, transvestism, transsexualism -
and some for sexual and criminal offences, including exhibitionism. The most
severe cases made up about 17 per cent of the total: rape, paedophilia,
sexual assault."

[Note how the
Portman Clinic treats transgender and transsexual people as 'compulsive'
sexual deviants, and lumps them in among pedophiles, exhibitionists and
rapists. Reminiscent of the Clarke Institute (CAMH) in Toronto (which has a
similar historical background), this 75 year old mental health facility is
where many young trans youth are sent for "treatment" in the UK today,
as you will see at this link.]

". . . police
claimed they had rescued a teenage boy from a “gang of hijras” who had
allegedly castrated him without consent. They claim they have broken up a
racket, but there are many unanswered questions about the case, which is
still under investigation. Nothing has been proved yet but this hasn’t
stopped the authorities from using the incident to vilify the community and
justify its harassment. As Jenny (name changed) puts it, “After this case,
everybody is looking at us as if we are monsters out on the prowl. If this
abusive and discriminatory atmosphere prevails, I am worried about what the
future holds for us.” . . . The huge furore surrounding a ninth
standard boy who was allegedly castrated and operated upon to “make him a
eunuch” had the city baying for the blood of the entire community."

"Specifically,
we ask you to institute a comprehensive investigation into the incidents of
October 20-21 and of November 9-10, and take appropriate action against
those found responsible. We ask that the eviction notices served by police
be immediately revoked and that authorities assist the affected hijras to
return to their homes or to find comparable housing. We also ask you to make
a public statement condemning discrimination and abuse based on sexual
orientation and gender identity, and affirming the rights of all Indian
people, including hijras and sex workers, to live their lives free of
societal or state-endorsed violence."

"Attitudes
towards gays and lesbians in much of Europe and around the world may have
made remarkable advances over the last 20 years, even if some regions of the
EU are more hospitable than others. But for transgender people,
discrimination, marginalisation and outright hostility remain part of daily
experience." (note the cool photo of a transwoman showing "XY" in the
palm of her hand)

"A leading
international human rights watchdog has asked India to stop what it called
"pattern-driven violence and abuse" by authorities against hijras
(trans-genders). In a letter to Indian authorities, the Human Rights Watch
described the action against hijras as "organised police campaign of social
cleansing." It alleged that about 100 hijras were evicted from their rented
accommodation on police orders earlier this month in an Indian city and most
of them lost their security deposit and belongings"

The term
“autogynephilia” and its corollary “homosexual transsexualism” mean far more
than descriptions of erotic phenomenon. They have come to represent an
over-arching body of derogatory stereotypes that are promoted as science but
remain dogmatically resilient to contrary evidence. “Autogynephilia” in
particular represents an affront to the human legitimacy and dignity of many
transitioned women. It serves no constructive purpose in an evidence-based
diagnostic nosology. I strongly urge the American Psychiatric Association to
remove this offensive term from the supporting text of the GID diagnosis and
refrain from adding it to the nomenclature of paraphilias in the DSM-V."

"Most people,
because they can’t figure out why [men] would want to be women, assume that
trans women transition for the one type of power that women are portrayed as
having in our society, which is the ability to attract men. And this
essentially sexualizes the motives of transsexual women. This is seen all
the time, both in psychiatry and in mainstream media, where trans women are
portrayed as sex workers or sexual deceivers preying on innocent straight
men, or cross-dressers are portrayed as fetishizing femininity. What’s
implicit in that is that women have no worth beyond their ability to be
sexualized."

"Looking
feminine is, of course, extremely important to you. First impressions are
often based just upon your face. That which is first seen in an initial
contact is frequently what defines you. It establishes not only who you are,
but often what sex you are as well. As a transsexual, perhaps nothing is
more important to you than appearing sexually the same as you feel
emotionally. Facial feminizing surgery can help bring these two together."

"At their 2008
annual meeting, the American Psychological Association (APA) released a
report by their Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance. They then
adopted a resolution based on that report.

Beneath its
façade of supportive and progressive language, the report promulgates the
most controversial and conservative views about transgender people, while
dismissing or downplaying more progressive, more ethical, and more
scientifically rigorous literature.

For years, this
task force waged a war of attrition against those who wanted the report to
reflect the diverse literature on trans issues, especially from those in the
trans community.

11-18-08: The Canadian (Canada): "Transgender and Crossdressers: Whose
news?" by Gina Lance - "First, the days of a guy
who likes to wear women’s clothes being a newsworthy event are just about
over. . . Even most transsexuals are not even newsworthy anymore unless the
headline can read: Transsexual Man Having Baby. . . Most transsexuals, like
most crossdressers, lead a pretty ordinary life and blend into society quite
well. They are not as newsworthy as the days of Christine Jorgensen having
her sex change! . . . So you ask… 'Gina, who makes the news?' Well if you’re
not a tranny bank robber, or a FTM pregnant transsexual, or a TG hooker
caught with a movie star . . . then odds are you’re just not newsworthy."

11-17-08: The
Local (Sweden): "Transvestism 'no longer a disease' in Sweden" -
"Transvestism, along with six other sexual behaviours, will be struck from
Sweden’s official list of medical diagnoses starting on January 1st, 2009. .
. .The other diagnoses which will soon disappear from the disease registry
include fetishism, fetishistic transvestitism, sadomasochism, gender
identity disorder in youth, and multiple disorders of sexual preferences."
(Note: transsexualism is still listed as a mental illness there)

"Over the
summer, a wrangle between eminent psychiatrists that had been brewing for
months erupted in print. Startled readers of Psychiatric News saw the
spectacle unfold in the journal's normally less-dramatic pages. The bone of
contention: whether the next revision of America's psychiatric bible, the
"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," should be done
openly and transparently so mental health professionals and the public could
follow along, or whether the debates should be held in secret.

One of the
psychiatrists (former editor Robert Spitzer) wanted transparency; several
others, including the president of the American Psychiatric Assn. and the
man charged with overseeing the revisions (Darrel Regier), held out for
secrecy. Hanging in the balance is whether, four years from now, a set of
questionable behaviors with names such as "Apathy Disorder," "Parental
Alienation Syndrome," "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder," "Compulsive Buying
Disorder," "Internet Addiction" and "Relational Disorder" will be considered
full-fledged psychiatric illnesses. "

Note: In this
important article,
Christopher
Lane (author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior
Became a Sickness) discusses the
escalating controversy about the DSM revision process and raises serious
questions about credibility of the DSM. This is a must-read for everyone
concerned about the psychiatric defamation of gender variant people as being
'mentally ill'.

"In the city of
Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, attitudes towards gender roles and sexual
orientation are comparatively relaxed. But despite the thriving gay and
transvestite scene, members of the cross-dressing community, known as
chivas, still face prejudice and violence. Sixteen-year-old Rober has been
working as a transsexual prostitute since he was 12. Donning his girlish
clothes and wig every night, he says that he's happier on the streets than
at school, despite the risks to his safety.

I became a
prostitute out of necessity, but also for the adventure. At first it seemed
nice, but later I realised that what we do is very risky. But that is how
you get to know life.

I used to watch
the older chivas [transvestite prostitutes] and it looked like fun. I
started from my own free will – no one forced me to. I was 12 years old.

People ask me
why I like to dress up as a woman. I just really enjoy it. I feel pretty. I
made a wig from the hair of my friends when I cut their hair for free. It
takes a long time to get ready at night and I know I can't go on like this
forever. When I'm dressing up, my breathing gets heavier and I feel more
like a woman – I feel sexier. That is how I become Violeta."

"The term
“autogynephilia,” meaning “love of oneself as a woman,” was first introduced
by Dr. Raymond Blanchard of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, now known as
the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. He is currently
chairman of the Paraphilias Subcommittee for the upcoming DSM-V. Blanchard
stated that,

“All gender dysphoric
males who are not sexually oriented toward men are instead sexually oriented
toward the thought or image of themselves as women.”

The absolutism in this
statement, in the words “all and “instead,” seems astonishing. It reduces a
broad continuum of sexuality among transwomen to two narrow maligning
stereotypes: either “homosexual males” in denial of a “homosexual” identity
or pathological narcissistic “males” sexually attracted to themselves."

11-11-08:
Merinews (India): "Is being a transsexual a sin?" - "Discrimination,
oppression, injustice, endless are the woes of transsexuals, who seek a fair
deal from society. But their woes continue, as the tinsel world too has
begun to tease them on the big screen to generate a giggle or two at their
expense."

11-10-08: The McGill Daily (Canada): "Non-normative gender is not a
disease", by James Albaugh -"These diagnoses
(Transvestic Fetishism and Gender Identity Disorder), which govern how
transgender and gender non-conforming people interact with mental health
providers, reflect stereotypes rather than actual people – and, with
perverse irony, often hurt the people they’re supposed to help. . . Perhaps
most perversely, these diagnostic criteria allow people who retreat deeply
into the closet – which can be very damaging to one’s mental health – to
escape a GID diagnosis and the social stigma of mental illness. At the same
time, those who decide whether or not to transition, and by how much, are
happy with who they are, yet they remain marked with that stigma for the
rest of their lives."

“When
the Opposite Sex Isn’t is unlike any psychological account. Instead
of cramming trans individuals into pre-existing etiological theories and
taxonomies, Samons provides insights into transgender people’s lives and
includes numerous helpful anecdotes that demystify their experience. This
book will be appreciated and enjoyed by therapists and people interested in
gender identity, human sexuality and transgender issues.” - Julia Serano,
author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the
Scapegoating of Femininity

“Sandra
Samons reveals with empathy and sensitivity the journey of self
discovery and social emergence transgender people experience as they reshape
their lives. It’s all here: from the wonderings of a child, to some
questioning if it’s ‘too late’, to the wonders of lives fulfilled. More
importantly, Samons’ observations of the primacy of gender identity and the
plasticity of sexual orientation during transitions raise deep questions
about human nature and the words we use to describe ourselves." - Lynn
Conway, Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; author
of the transgender information website LynnConway.com

11-07-08: Gsscene (UK): "Natasha Thoday claims tribunal victory" - "The Council’s legal team in effect
directed a Council employee to break the law and not provide Miss Thoday
with a reference for three years . . . Everyone involved with trying to
cover up Miss Thoday’s plight within Brighton Council should hang their
heads in shame" NEW!

11-07-08: Gsscene (UK): "Guilty on 6 Counts!" - "The General
Teaching Council for England has ruled that a former Education, Training and
Employment Manager at Brighton & Hove City Council was guilty of
discriminating against a teacher because she was transgender"
NEW!

"Trans: A
practical guide for the NHS is a hundred page manual covering every aspect
of what managers need to understand and do in order to ensure that trans
people experience equal outcomes with NHS organisations – both in the
provision of services, and in access to employment. The new guide provides
extensive background on trans people’s lives, along with clear direction on
why it is important that NHS policy should ensure equal outcomes. It covers
the requirements of the law in detail, and identifies areas where managers
should be seeking to do more than merely comply. Separate sections deal with
employment and with service commissioning and delivery – with practical tips
for what to include in the action plans for equality schemes. Service
planning and delivery issues do not just focus upon gender reassignment, but
include life-long care for patients who have a trans background." - (download
the document from this page)

11-03-08: The Chicago Tribune: "Pay gap after sex change studied"
- "A recent study has found a new way to examine pay disparities between men
and women: comparing the salaries of transgender employees before and after
their gender changes. The study . . . found that although the average
earnings for women who changed their gender increased slightly after the
transition, it fell by nearly a third for workers who went from male to
female."

(The) Diagnosis
of Transvestic Fetishism (as a mental illness in the DSM) is limited to
heterosexual males . . . Curiously, women and gay men are free to wear
whatever clothing they chose without a label of mental illness. This
criterion serves to enforce a stricter standard of conformity for straight
males than women or gay men. Its double-standard not only reflects the
social privilege of heterosexual males in American culture, but enforces it.
One implication is that biological males who emulate women, with their lower
social status, are presumed irrational and mentally disordered, while
biological females who emulate males are not. A second implication
stereotypically associates femininity and cross-dressing with male
homosexuality and serves to punish straight males who transgress this
stereotype. . .

More disturbing,
the supporting text lists “involvement in a transvestic subculture” among
symptomatic “transvestic phenomena.” Psychiatric diagnosis on the basis of
social, cultural or political affiliation evokes the darkest memories of
medical abuse in American history. For example, women suffragettes who
demanded the right to vote in the early 1900s were diagnosed and
institutionalized with a label of “hysteria.” Immigrants, Bolsheviks and
labor organizers of the same era were labeled as socially deviant and
mentally defective by psychiatric eugenicists. In truth, transgender support
organizations worldwide are a primary source of support, education and civil
rights advocacy for gender variant people, families, friends and allies.
Their necessity is a consequence of social intolerance, not of mental
deficiency. . ."

11-01-08: The New York Times: "The Sea Horse, Our Family Mascot" -
"Eli is a transgender man, and lived the first 20 years of our lives as my
fraternal twin sister. I have plenty of memories of my twin as a little
girl, as Emma, not Eli. More often, though, my memories adjust to represent
Eli as I know him now, as my brother."

10-29-08: Dr. Phil: "Wednesday
- October 29, 2008: Gender Confused Kids" - "Dr. Phil tackles the
sensitive topic of children who identify more with the opposite sex. . . .
Joining the discussion are experts with different points of view: Dr. Dan
Siegel, professor and clinical psychiatrist at UCLA School of Medicine, and
Glenn Stanton, author and research fellow with the organization Focus on the
Family" (more)

"In the context of
children, transition is not an assignment by parents or clinicians.
Transition means simply creating an environment where gender variant or
transcendent [4] children may safely define their own roles that are
congruent with their inner sense of gender identity. These roles may be
stereotypically masculine, feminine or uniquely in between and may include
self-expression in clothing and mannerisms and identification in name and
pronouns. However, the APA labels all youth who transition their
social gender roles as mentally disordered in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, ed. IV-TR (DSM), [5] regardless of how
happy and well they are in their new roles. Many of the barriers these youth
face in school and society are exacerbated by these psychiatric labels.
In the Byzantine nomenclature of the current Gender Identity Disorder in
Children (GIDC) diagnosis, gender transcendent children should be closeted
and not seen nor heard."
NEW

10-25-08: Weekend Post (South Africa): "Skeleton‘s out the closet in
new book" - "An Eastern Cape author‘s sensational new whodunit based on
the SADF‘s alleged barbaric sex change experiments on gay defence force
members hits bookstores on Tuesday. . . He said up to 2000 gays and lesbians
in the military could have been subjected to electro-shock therapy, chemical
castration and aversion therapy which sometimes culminated in sex change
operations in a bid to “cure” homosexuality. . . But truth can be stranger
than fiction, because the doctor who allegedly headed up this military
psychiatric unit in Pretoria where the unethical experiments are believed to
have taken place, is now a professor of psychiatry at a Canadian university
and is also in private practice." (more,
more)

"In the reality
of human gender diversity, the current diagnostic categories of Gender
Identity Disorder (GID) and Transvestic Fetishism in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) convey a presumption that
internal gender identity or social gender expression that vary from assigned
birth sex roles are intrinsically pathological and sexually deviant. Their
authors and supporters have defended this axiom by disparaging skeptical
criticism and indignation as “attack” on science and academic expression.
Thus, the premise of ‘disordered’ gender identity has ascended to the level
of dogma in American psychiatry and psychology, imposing an near-impossible
burden of proof upon contrary evidence, dissenting opinion and especially
upon transitioned individuals to prove our legitimacy in our affirmed
roles."

"Last Wednesday
afternoon, the Atlantic Monthly posted a story online by reporter
Hanna Rosin entitled
A Boy’s Life. The article horribly presents transyouth and their
families — everything from the headline getting the child they focused on
wrong (which is in conflict with the
Associated Press Stylebook — the
“Bible” of journalism
standards) to how Kim Pearson [the Executive Director of
TransYouth Family Allies
(TYFA)] believes that the Atlantic betrayed the trust of the
families that talked to their reporter. . . And now, a few
months after the family talked to this reporter, the child profiled in the
story is living full time as a girl and is doing very well at both home and
at school. So, it was especially frustrating to Kim that the article gives a
wrong impression how the child is actually doing."

"Ironically,
even DSM-III architect Robert Spitzer is being excluded this time around.
Denied access to task force committee minutes and other information, an
angry Spitzer wrote a protest editorial that was rejected for publication by
the American Journal of Psychiatry,
the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The editorial,
"Developing DSM-V in Secret," is online
here: "

"Perhaps the
best-kept-secret about DSM-V is that rather than being “an open and
transparent process” as has been claimed (1), it will essentially be
developed in secret. Task Force and Workgroup members have been required to
sign “confidentiality agreements” prohibiting them from discussing with
anybody anything having to do with DSM-V."

"Over the past
couple of decades, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the
American Psychiatric Association has risen from its humble origins to an
object of worship, regarded as the absolute scientific truth. Privately,
however, many mental health professionals refer to it as a "joke." "

"Zucker’s belief
is that with enough therapy, such children can be made to feel comfortable
in their birth sex. Zucker has compared young children who believe they are
meant to live as the other sex to people who want to amputate healthy limbs,
or who believe they are cats, or those with something called ethnic-identity
disorder. “If a 5-year-old black kid came into the clinic and said he wanted
to be white, would we endorse that?” he told me. “I don’t think so. What we
would want to do is say, ‘What’s going on with this kid that’s making him
feel that it would be better to be white?’”"

"Wrote
McHugh in First Things in 2004: “. . . We have wasted scientific and
technical resources and damaged our professional credibility by
collaborating with madness rather than trying to study, cure, and ultimately
prevent it.” . . . “Effective therapy brings to an end the suffering of
these children; hormones and surgery do not,” said
Richard
Fitzgibbons (more,
more), a Catholic psychiatrist in Conshohocken, Pa.., who has counseled
many individuals with Gender Identity Disorder to appreciate the bodies they
were born in."

10-11-08: The Hindu (India): "Where have Kerala’s Hijras gone?" -
"The State has a stiff upper lip when it comes to sexual minorities and it
is a really stifling place for transsexuals.” As a result, he points out,
transsexual people either migrated to other States where there are social
spaces for them, or lived anonymously and invisibly in their personal hells
in Kerala"

"Colombia's
constitutional court says a five-year-old child born with both female and
male sexual organs can choose its own gender or maintain both, overruling
the parents who want to make the child a boy. "The child has reached an age
beyond which gender identification is determined," the court said, stating
that it was now up to the child to decide its reproductive future with
support from specialists and the parents. The child's choice would have
precedence over the opinions of the experts and family, it said."

10-09-08: The Daily Telegraph (Australia): "Police 'degraded man in
custody with tranny taunt'" - "When constable Tyrone Stacey heard that a
man in custody, Garrick Jacobson, was romantically involved with a woman
known by police to be transgender, he assumed Jacobson was aware his
girlfriend used to be male, a court heard yesterday. "Oh, you mean the
tranny?" Stacey asked after Jacobson said his girlfriend's name was Brigitte
Fell. But Jacobson was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked."

10-07-08: New Straights Times (Malaysia): "A life shunned" -
"Poh’s short film, Pecah Lobang, was one of the winning entries at the
Freedom Film Festival (FFF) 2008. Pecah Lobang, which means “busted”, is
about transsexual sex workers in Malaysia. It is also a term commonly used
by transsexuals. “They are just normal people who had no choice but to
become sex workers in order to earn a living,” said Poh Si"

10-06-08: The Korea Times (Korea): "Transgender Commits Suicide" -
"A transgender, who became famous for appearing in a show before and after
undergoing sex change surgery, committed suicide Saturday, a day after
actress Choi Jin-sil's death. Police concluded that the direct cause of the
suicide was the breakup with her boyfriend, but suspect Choi's death had
affected her decision to kill herself."

10-06-08: New America News (re Taiwan): "Transgenders Protest New
Policy in Taiwan" - "A government policy in Taiwan has made it more
difficult for transgenders to get an ID, creating panic in the community.
The policy, which went into effect last year, stipulates that female-to-male
transgenders cannot get an ID card that identifies them as male unless they
have undergone all three parts of gender reassignment surgery."

"The
real subject of Screaming Queens is the whole modern history of the
transgender community in San Francisco. . . It creates a portrait of a time
and place which to some today may seem as far removed as ancient Egypt.
Cross-dressing was against the law, so transgender people could be arrested
at any time. If the police needed further cause, they could invoke charges
such as “obstructing the sidewalk.” Applying for most jobs required
presentation of an official state ID card, leaving transgender people in a
unique bind because the gender designation assigned at birth could not be
changed on the card to match a person’s adult identity. That left few
employment options; those with the talent could perform in nightclubs, while
those without could become streetwalkers."

10-03-08: The Inquirer (Philippines): "New TV shows hit the spot"
- "Last week, the edgy weekly series’ episode, “Gender Benders,” focused on
the growing transsexual trend. . . the production should also have given
time and space to the more negative aspects of the transsexual equation."
(Philippine media reacts to a program on the National Geographic Channel)

10-03-08:
The Hindu (India): "Documentary on transgenders enters London festival"
- "The film "Nashtavarnnangal," (Missing Colours) traces the life of Karthi,
a transgender, right from infancy to that of old age and death. It also
depicts the protagonist's passion for painting. "The 25-minute film also
aims to show the world the talents of such persons but also their solitary
confinement due to the social stigma attached with their gender," Kanathur
said."

" . . . Anyway,
we set up what turned out to be a terribly "nice" middle class affair, with
us saying, Good morning" to people as they walked past, while offering them
a copy of this
leaflet. The takeup rate was pretty good, with most people meeting our
cheery smiles. . . There was (a) person I didn't miss though, and this has
to go down as the creepiest thing that's happened to me today . . . I looked
up and realised who our would be paparazzo was; I recognised him as none
other than Professor Richard Green, formerly head of the Charing Cross
Gender Identity Clinic. And he was hanging around, taking photos of
protesters outside an RSM conference on trans issues. Right. Well that
didn't at all feel like the creepy old man hanging round by the school gate,
oh no. Perhaps he has a Little Book of Uppity Trannies. A rogues' gallery of
those of us who need putting in our place? . . ."

"An update to
this post from earlier today. I've spoken to someone who was in the
conference, and they asked Richard Green why he was taking photos of us.
Apparently he was doing it at the request of Zucker himself, who wanted a
souvenir, because he "found the attention amusing". So there are going to be
pictures of me, a few other transpeople, and a bunch of allies in Zucker's
holiday snaps album. Knowing what they say about those who protest too much,
I do hope he's not planning to view them with a box of Kleenex at the ready.
Urgh! I think I need a shower. And sandpaper."

10-01-08: Bay Windows: "High Standards" - "A gendertherapist gets
more than she bargained for when she falls for one of her FTM patients in
Standards of Care" - "While the unwitting entanglement of the characters
provides lots of laughs, the story goes deeper than the surface humor. The
play reveals how complicated family dynamics can become for transgender
people, even when they aren’t outright rejected. It also explores the
transgender community’s relationship to healthcare, especially around the
controversial Standards of Care . . ."

9-29-08: Stonewall
Democrats 'Take Action' Alert: "The Transgender Community and Allies Support
Obama" - "On Monday, September 29, we’ll be holding a special
coordinated blogging day to harness the power of the transgender community
and trans allies to help elect Barack Obama." - "Barack supports a
comprehensive ENDA inclusive of both sexual orientation and gender identity,
comprehensive hate crimes protections, and prominently features trans people
in his campaign. Let’s help get him and Joe Biden elected!"

9-28-08: Denver Examiner: "Gay TV Tonight: Colorado Out Spoken" -
"The September episode of Colorado Out Spoken will air tonight at 11 p.m. on
KBDI Channel 12" - "Join host Eden Lane as she brings you back to the
Democratic National Convention with interviews and special coverage not seen
anywhere else. Don't miss amazing interviews with Barney Frank, Michelle
Obama, and Gavin Newsom."

9-28-08:
Denver Post: "Transgender girl's looks sparked school fight" - ""Every
day, I was afraid for my sister. The world, the way it is, most people
wouldn't accept who she was." - "Born Justin Zapata, Angie wanted to live
and love as a transgender female. Her quest for a normal life on her terms
ended in July, when she was beaten to death in her one-bedroom, $300-a-month
apartment."

9-28-08: B92 (Serbia): "Belgrade, sex-change center" - "Belgrade
is the only global center where complete sex reassignment is possible in
only one surgery, Novi Sad daily Dnevnik writes. The paper says that, thanks
to Doctor Sava Perović, some 200 transgender men and women have so far
undergone this procedure, most of them from Serbia and Montenegro."

9-26-08: Washington Blade: "Human rights are for everyone" - "D.C.
should require the Dept. of Corrections to comply with the Human Rights Act"
- "Housing and classifying individuals based on their gender identification
poses significantly fewer problems than relying on genitalia alone. Other
sex-segregated facilities in the District, such as homeless shelters, have
successfully implemented policies that align with the law."

9-26-08: Taipei Times (Taiwan): "EDITORIAL: Cloud hangs over Taiwan
Pride Parade" - "Tomorrow the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community and their supporters will take to the streets for the Sixth
Taiwan Pride Parade. . . However, although Taiwan’s homosexual community has
made great strides, the transgender, and specifically transsexual, community
still has a long way to go in gaining acceptance."

"Shelley's new
work . . . delves into the social, political and academic sources of trans
repudiation, which he posits is transphobia, but more than just phobia. The
author, along with those who contributed their personal narratives, takes a
look at the complexities of trans experiences and provides ways of "talking
back" to marginalizing forces." - "I suggest that the project of trying to
clinically understand transpeople be abandoned," he writes. "Rather, some
core psychoanalytic concepts can be re-harnessed in an attempt to understand
the perpetrators of trans repudiation."

9-23-08: C'est si Bonne, by Debra Soshoux: "Thank You, Judge Robinson!
- "Diane Schroer has won her case for Title VII sex discrimination
against the Library of Congress, which hired then immediately fired her when
she came out as transsexual. U.S. District Court (trial court) for the
District of Columbia. Judge James Robertson issued the decision on Friday,
September 19th." (blog provides background perspective on past
decisions on this issue).

"This is an
important demonstration and it is vital that you attend if you are able. . .
.It is important to come for two reasons;

1. to show
opposition to Ken Zucker's 'treatments' being used on children and 2. to
oppose the nature of the Royal Society of Medicine's highly political
conference on trans identified adolescents.

Ken Zucker is a
psychologist (not a psychiatrist) at the Clarke Institute in Toronto. He
promotes his so-called "reparative therapy" which is little more than
torture for gender variant (GV) children and trans identified adolescents. .
. ." - Natacha Kennedy (Official Organiser)

Comment: For over
40 years the civil rights act of 1964 has prohibited discrimination on the
basis of sex. A Federal Court has at long last interpreted that act as
covering discrimination against gender transitioners (see Schroer v
Billington, below).

"I very much hope
that this ruling will help to eliminate the all-too-pervasive discrimination
against gender non-conforming people in all areas. I hope too, that
employers, family members, friends and co-workers will begin to understand
variations in gender identity from a basis of knowledge and not fear," added
Schroer.

“Analysis “must
begin . . . with the language of the statute itself” and “[i]n this case it
is also where the inquiry should end, for where, as here, the statute’s
language is plain, ‘the sole function of the courts is to enforce it
according to its terms.’”” – p34

"Imagine that an
employee is fired because she converts from Christianity to Judaism. Imagine
too that her employer testifies that he harbors no bias toward either
Christians or Jews but only “converts.” That would be a clear case of
discrimination “because of religion.” No court would take seriously the
notion that “converts” are not covered by the statute. Discrimination
“because of religion” easily encompasses discrimination because of a change
of religion. But in cases where the plaintiff has changed her sex, and faces
discrimination because of the decision to stop presenting as a man and to
start appearing as a woman, courts have traditionally carved such persons
out of the statute by concluding that “transsexuality” is unprotected by
Title VII. In other words, courts have allowed their focus on the label
“transsexual” to blind them to the statutory language itself." – p31

"In refusing to
hire Diane Schroer because her appearance and background did not comport
with the decisionmaker’s sex stereotypes about how men and women should act
and appear, and in response to Schroer’s decision to transition, legally,
culturally, and physically, from male to female, the Library of Congress
violated Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination". – p35

"Zucker
acknowledges that G.I.D. boys most commonly turn out to be homosexual adult
men, not adult transsexuals. This is in striking contrast to his recent
documentary statement that "when one engages in psychotherapy" with children
and adolescents with gender dysphoria that one may find that many give up
the wish for a sex change and come to an alternative to the "only way I can
feel good about myself" is with a sex change." It also contradicts his
colleague's description of Zucker's view that, "Zucker thinks that an
important goal of treatment is to help the children accept their birth sex
and to avoid becoming transsexual".

With this statement, Zucker's colleague, J Michael Bailey, exposes Zucker's
"treatment" as fraudulent, since we have already seen that Zucker knows that
most of these boys don't become transsexual, but instead become
non–transsexual adult homosexual men. Thus without Zucker's treatment, they
mainly become gay men anyway; and thus, Zucker has no proof of his own
fraudulent claims. We are not surprised then, that Bailey again exposes
Zucker's "transsexual prevention" treatment of G.I.D. boys as fraudulent and
baseless, by this following comment, "Zucker believes that most boys who
play with girls' things often enough to earn a diagnosis of G.I.D. would
become girls if they could. Failure to intervene increases the chances of
transsexualism in adulthood, which Zucker considers a bad outcome. ... "

9-16-08:
GIDReform.org: "Recommendations for Nominations to the Sexual and Gender
Identity Disorders Work Group of the DSM-V Task Force" (link
to more background on this issue)"The most pressing issue concerning the professional
communities at this time is that the membership of the Sexual and Gender
Identity Disorders Work Group does not adequately include the diversity of
clinical perspectives of professionals who work with gender-variant,
transgender, and transsexual people. We are concerned that researchers and
practitioners who are affirming of gender diversity and gender variant
people are under-represented on the Gender Identity Disorders and Paraphilia
sub-committees. Therefore, we ask trans-affirming professionals and
clinicians to write the APA and recommend that the following names be added
to the Sexual and GID Work Group: Michele Angello, Ph.D., Diane
Ehrensaft, Ph.D., Dan Karasic, M.D., Gail Knudson M.D., M.P.E., F.R.C.P.C.,
Edgardo Menvielle, M.D., Herbert Schreier, M.D." [Therapists,
clinicians and medical professionals: Please
contact the APA
and recommend
that these professionals be added to the DSM Sexual and Gender Identity
Disorders Work Group (see
sample letters).]

9-16-08: GMA News (Philippines): "SC ruling: 27-year-old ‘woman’ is
‘male’" - "For proving that her body is manifesting natural occurring
male characteristics, a 27-year-old woman was allowed by the Supreme Court
to change her name and gender entries in her birth certificate.
The high court ruled that Jennifer Cagandahan has congenital adrenal
hyperplasia (CAH), a rare condition that could cause early or
“inappropriate" appearance of male characteristics . . . and involves
intersex anatomy."

9-12-08: Radio Netherlands (re Thailand): "Transgender toilets - The
third way" - "You're fourteen, at school and you need to go for a pee.
You leave your science lesson and rush to the toilet. Then you stop. You're
confused. In front of you are three separate toilets. One with a symbol for
boys, another for girls, and there's another with a symbol you've never seen
before. It's half blue and half pink Oh yes of course, it's the transgender
toilet. A toilet for those boys who feel like girls."

9-08-08: New York Post: "YE-SHE-VA University is Rattled by a
Transgender Prof" - "A Yeshiva University professor left two years ago
as a man - and returned last week as a woman . . . "He's not a woman. . . "
said Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a senior dean at Yeshiva's rabbinical school and a
professor of biology and medical ethics. "He's a person who represents a
kind of amorality which runs counter to everything Yeshiva University stands
for. There is just no leeway in Jewish law for a transsexual." . . . After
months of heated debate among rabbis, administrators, Ladin and her lawyers,
the university agreed to let her return, according to sources close to the
negotiations." (more,
more,
more)

9-08-08: AsiaOne (re Singapore): "Trans Singapore" - "A degree
from Curtin University, Western Australia, and a regional management
position in a large logistics organisation. While laudable, Juliet's
achievements are not likely to make most people sit up and take notice.
Until, of course, the 40-year-old tells them she is a transsexual."

9-07-08: AsiaOne (re Singapore): "When Papa became Mama " - "Fanny
happily lets on that she recently found a job in a construction firm. Her
boss and her colleagues are aware of her status. She does not harbour grand
plans such as marriage for the future. 'I just want to focus on my
daughter.' The latter ponders when asked what it's like to have two mothers.
'It's okay to have two mummies. I can still enjoy both their love.'"

9-07-08: CBS News: "The Sex Change Capital of The U.S." - "A Small
Rocky Mountain Town Is Home To A Cottage Industry Helping Transgender
People" - "When people decide to make one of the most drastic changes in
their lives, they often head to the most unlikely town you could ever
imagine. Our Cover Story is reported by Seth Doane"

9-07-08:
Haaretz (Israel): "Moving between the sexes" - "The regulations also
prohibit carrying out the operation privately, and permits it to be
performed only at Sheba. . . . the Health Ministry has established a
committee to re-examine the procedure. . . There are already signs of
opposition from some of those involved to the demand to make the criteria
more flexible." [Comment: This is an important story about challenges to
stringent government control of transitions in Israel.]

9-06-08: The New York Observer (of 8-26-08): "The Second Most
Beautiful Girl in New York" - "Looking for love but finding lust in the
city of men" - “Transitioning in New York is like paradise,” she said. “Yes,
you deal with bullshit. You deal with people making comments”—that’s called
getting “spooked”—“but I can’t imagine living anywhere else going through
what I went through. Because I’d say for every person that would make a
nasty comment, there are 10 people that will tell you that you’re gorgeous
and that they love you and that you’re fierce.”

". . . in judging
the desirability of hormonal pubertal suppression as a first but reversible
phase in the sex reassignment procedure, one should not only take
consequences of the intervention into account. Rather, one should also
consider the consequences of nontreatment. Nonintervention is not a neutral
option, but has clear negative lifelong consequences for the quality of life
of those individuals who had to wait for treatment until after puberty."

[Note: This paper
is a must read by parents, families, friends and allies of trans children.][PDF]

"There is a
continuing controversial discussion of whether or not transsexualism has a
biological representation. Differences between males and females in terms of
functional imaging during erotic stimuli have been previously described,
revealing gender-specific results. . . .We revealed a cerebral activation
pattern in MTF transsexuals compared with male controls similar to female
controls compared with male controls during viewing of erotic stimuli,
indicating a tendency of female-like cerebral processing in transsexualism."

"Billed as a transsexual Cinderella
story, this Berlinale Teddy winner is amazingly engaging for its heady blend
of gritty vérité and whimsical fairy tale. Why should I care about
froggy-throated Filipina “lady-boy” Raquela Rios and the journey by which
she lifts herself out of the gutters of Cebu City, through Internet porn,
through Icelandic fish factories, to a delicately-staged freedom in Paris?
Because it documents the desire each and every one of us has to achieve our
dreams. Because each and every one of us deserves a better life. Because
we’re all orphaned royalty exiled from our true kingdom. If Queen Raquela
can do it—however she has to—we all can do it, however we must." - Michael
Guillen,
Twitch film review.

8-29-08: Hindustan Times (India): "Gays have no legal rights:
ministry" - Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss's demand to legalise
homosexuality in the country will remain a pipedream. The Law Ministry is
opposed to his demand of scrapping section 377 of the Indian Penal Code,
which prescribes a sentence of up to life imprisonment for those indulging
in "unnatural sex"."

As Andrea James
says: "I believe they are all trying to rehabilitate themselves in fear of
getting the Zucker treatment. If they keep making statements like this,
that's a good thing, and I believe is a direct result of the pressure they
are facing. No one wants to be labeled a villain and see their legacy
disintegrate while they are still alive."

Many see a
comparison with how psychologists started to see
George Rekers (the gay-reparatist so extolled by the religious right),
eventually avoiding mentioning him altogether.
Zucker is on
the same course, as his fair-weather colleagues start to see him as an
embarrassment and a liability.

8-27-08: Lakeland Echo (UK): "Fly-past tribute to RAF veteran" -
"A FLY-PAST of a lone Vulcan bomber across Morecambe on Friday was a fitting
tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40
years.
The life of Lynne Janine Braithwaite BEM, who died on August 12, was
celebrated at a packed Lancaster Crematorium where friends and family said
their farewells to a remarkable person."

8-25-08: Indiaglitz (India): "Karan to star as a transgender person"
- "In his next flick titled 'Arthanari' Karan would be seen playing a
transgender person. . . 'Gone are the days when transgender people were
shown in poor light in films. Movie audiences have begun to understand and
respect these people. 'Arthanari' would help a lot in making people
understand a lot about these people' said Karan."

8-23-08:
Daily News and Analysis (India): "Blurring gender divides" - "The
transgender community turned up in full force at the recent gay pride march,
but they keep a low profile in the city." - "A number of them are into
prostitution, others find shelter in the dark night, away from judgemental
eyes. . . . “We all want to be loved, and to be in love, but it’s not in our
destiny.”"

"The report
noted that APA has previously adopted resolutions discouraging psychologists
from using diagnoses that are potentially harmful or discriminatory.

Accordingly, if
there were evidence showing the GID diagnosis to be similarly harmful and
discriminatory against gender-variant, transgender or transsexual people,
there would be a precedent for a resolution discouraging psychologists from
using this diagnosis,” the task force wrote.

However … there
is a great deal of disagreement about the GID diagnosis and whether it is
helpful or harmful; therefore, the Task Force does not recommend that APA
take a position on GID at this time.""

Comment: You can
probably guess who insisted on calling gender variance a "psychological
disorder", then
avoided his scheduled appearance at the APA Convention where he'd have
had to defend that position (i.e.,
Zucker).

8-16-08: Newsday.com: "GRAY MATTERS: AARP flexes its muscle on
Medicare, support for gays" - "While many in the older generation still
live in the shadows, hiding their sexuality, says SAGE, "the next generation
if LGBT seniors, part of the boomer generation, has decisively and proudly
embraced their sexual orientation and gender identity. Collectively, they
will be a powerful and insistent force in combating the marginalization and
invisibility that plagues the older generation.""

8-15-08: Philadelphia Gay News: "Subpoena of DA records in Morris case
‘imminent’" - "Morris was a transgender woman who died shortly after
receiving a courtesy ride from Philadelphia police during the early-morning
hours of Dec. 22, 2002." . . . "Kathleen R. Padilla, a local transgender
activist, lauded the PAC for its commitment to the Morris case. “The
disappearance of Nizah Morris’ official homicide file causes deep
consternation among so many community members,” Padilla said. “Anything the
PAC can do to shine a light on this murky case will only serve to improve
relations between the community, police and [the] D.A.’s Office.”"

"Undermining
the legitimacy of social and medical transition in the title, diagnostic
criteria and supporting text of the current Gender Identity Disorder
diagnosis, the American Psychiatric Association has undermined the human
dignity and civil justice of gender variant and especially transitioning
people. The Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders work group of the
DSM-V Task Force has an opportunity to reconsider consequences of social
stigma that have been overlooked in past editions. Once again, it is
time for diagnostic nomenclature that does not harm those it is intended to
help."

8-14-08: The Guardian (UK): "'My body is wrong'" - "Should
teenagers who believe they are transgender be helped to change sex? And if
so, what about the four-year-olds who feel the same way? Viv Groskop meets
the parents and doctors in favour of intervention" . . .

"A
conference
to discuss gender identity disorder in adolescents will be held in
October at the Royal Society of Medicine. Some parents whose children have
gender identity issues are already angry about the fact that few
professionals have been invited from abroad. They see the UK as lagging
behind developments in other countries. Treatment centres in Australia,
Belgium, Canada, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and the US all offer
medication to suspend puberty. Not enough is known about this in the UK,
according to the
Gender Identity Research
and Education Society (Gires), and only two of the 15 presenters at the
conference are from overseas. . ."

"Terry Reed, a
trustee at Gires and the mother of a transgender adult, says that many
British specialists are "transphobic". "As far as they're concerned, a trans
outcome is bad. They are hoping that during puberty the natural hormones
themselves will act on the brain to 'cure' these trans teenagers. What we do
know is what happens if you don't offer hormone blockers. You are stuck with
unwanted secondary sex characteristics in the long term and in the short
term these teenagers end up suicidal.". . ."

8-14-08:
Gay Wired: "TransNation: Former Attorney Tackles Workplace Issues, FTM
Borderlands and Transphobia", by Jacob Anderson-Minshall - "The work
Weiss has taken on, she says is not something that one person can really
tackle alone. Instead, she argues, it takes “many, many individuals. It’s
not something that should be reserved to people who are quote activists or…
academics or scholars. The way to do [it] is simply to—in your own life—come
forward and… educate people about issues of sexual orientation and gender
identity. Ultimately that’s what’s going to change society. A lot of
transgender people are concerned about standing up too tall or too proud in
society, fearing that they’ll be the target of violence and ridicule. I
think that’s what needs to change. [In order] to change society we need to
stand up and be counted.” " (more)

8-13-08: Melbourne Community Voice (Australia): "International Trans
Day" - "Most gay historians will tell you modern gay activism began with
the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York, 1969. But on Friday many in our
community will commemorate the anniversary of another incident three years
prior to Stonewall. International Transgender Day of Awareness, August 15,
marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1966 Compton Cafeteria riot in San
Francisco, where transgender and queer patrons rebelled against police
harassment"

8-12-08: NewIndPress (India): "Aravanis return youth to family after
parent’s plea" - "This episode has opened a debate on whether an
individual has right to choose life much against the parental concern?
Whether Aravanis have the right to extend protection to newcomers? Whether
parents have right to expect too much from their wards? Social activist
Malliga Chandran said that a lot of awareness was needed to accept
transgenders in the social set up if not in the family fold"

Angie Zapata would
have celebrated her 19th birthday last week. "She always knew she was
supposed to be a girl. And we knew it too," Monica Zapata said. "Don't
remember her as transgendered but remember her as a beautiful, loving
woman."" (more)

8-08-08: GID Reform.org: "Diagnosis vs. Treatment: Barriers to Medical
Care" - "The
current diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder has contributed to derogatory
stereotypes of mental illness and sexual deviance, creating barriers to
medical care for transsexual and other gender variant people before and
after transition. The DSM-V Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders work group
has an opportunity to refute these stereotypes with diagnostic criteria and
supporting text that are affirming of transition rather than promoting
punitive gender-conversion therapies."

8-08-08:
Organisation Intersex International (OII): "I Got Your Message!", by Sophia
Siedlberg - "Today the 8th of August 2008 sees the opening of the
Beijing Olympics and the one debate that interests me is the one about sex
testing. Already some "religious" people have crawled out of the woodwork
saying that "sex testing is good because it keeps those who are aberrations
in the eyes of G-d out". Hmm yes, I suspect they would have really enjoyed
the 1936 Olympics then"

8-07-08: Catholic News Agency: "Florida Citizens Unite Against
'Transgender' Activists" - "“The concept of ‘gender identity’ was
fashioned by radical homosexual groups and advocates to protect the bizarre
sexual behavior of a few people,” President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas
More Law Center Richard Thompson commented in a statement. “In practical
effect, these types of ordinances end up being used to intimidate and
prosecute Christians and anyone else who raises objections to this form of
deviant behavior.”"

8-06-08:
Here on Earth - Radio Without Borders: "Transgender International" -
"After decades of harassment, there are signs that transgender communities
in India and Cuba are finally getting accepted. India has a transgendered TV
talk show host, and in Cuba, gender reassignment surgeries are being
routinely performed. Progress? You decide" Guests:
Joe Elder,
professor, Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Department of
Sociology, UW-Madison; Adrian Lopez-Denis, professor of Latin American
History at UCLA; Ron Brenesky, chairman of
Unity Coalition of Miami, FloridaNEW!

8-05-08:
BBC News (UK): "Man denies transgender killing" - "A teenager accused of
killing a transgender woman he had become intimate with has said he did not
know she was biologically still a man. Shanniel Hyatt, 18, denies murdering
39-year-old Kellie Telesford at her flat in Thornton Heath."

8-03-08: New York Times: "The XY Games", by Jennifer Finney Boylan
- "If transgender athletes are now allowed to compete officially, and if
gender testing has been shown frequently to render false results, then what
exactly are the Chinese authorities testing for? The Olympic hosts seem to
want to impose a binary order upon the messy continuum of gender. They are
searching for concreteness and certainty in a world that contains neither."

8-02-08: The Local
(Sweden): "Castration law for Swedish transgenders" - "A new proposal to
introduce castration as a prerequisite for those undergoing gender
reassignment surgery in Sweden has been met with outrage by a leading gay
and transgender rights organization" (Could this proposal be a reaction to
the recent birth of a child to a transitioned man?).

7-30-08: Pat Griffin's LGBT Sport Blog: "Sex Testing at the Olympics"
- "Organizers of the Bejing Olympics have set up a lab to test the sex of
women whose femaleness is deemed questionable. This statement raises the
hair on the back of my neck. The intention is to catch, what some officials
in the Olympic movement call, “man cheats.” They are referring to men who
disguise themselves to compete as women."

7-29-08:
BBC News (re Thailand): "Thai school offers transsexual toilet" -
"Between the girls' toilet and the boys', there is one signposted with a
half-man, half-woman figure in blue and red. . . . The headteacher, Sitisak
Sumontha, estimates that in any year between 10% and 20% of his boys
consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls"

7-28-08: PinkNews (UK): "South African named as new UN human rights
chief" - "The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will be South
African judge Navanethem Pillay. . . Last year Mrs Arbour declared her
support for the Yogyakarta Principles. They refer to the application of
international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender
identity and address issues such as rape and gender-based violence,
extra-judicial executions, torture and medical abuses, repressions of free
speech and discrimination in the public services."

7-28-08: San Francisco Chronicle: "Protesters Among the Gay Tuxedoed
Crowd" - “This is one for the history books,” said Robert Haaland, a
longtime San Francisco transgender activist. . . . A coalition of groups,
including Pride at Work, And Castro 4 All, and the Harvey Milk LGBT
Democratic Club, called a boycott and managed to get not only local
politicians, but also the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) dinner’s keynote
speaker to cancel at the last moment. . . .It’s hard to imagine that HRC can
now proceed with business as usual. The message from Saturday’s boycott and
protest was loud and clear: Transgenders and their allies are not going
away. HRC should be very worried."

7-24-08: Time (re Mexico): "Postcard from Mexico City - A Den of Sin
or a Beacon of Liberty?" - "Mexico City judge Gustavo Lugo signed off on
Mexico's first transgender marriage, ruling it a perfectly legal union
between a registered male and a registered female. . . . Splashed over
Mexican newspapers and TV shows, the wedding became the latest symbol of
Mexico City's transformation over the last two years into the socially
liberal capital of a conservative Catholic country."

7-23-08: Earth Times (re Germany): "Top German court okays
'transsexual' to stay with wife" - "A man who has sought legal
recognition as a woman will be allowed to stay married to his wife,
Germany's constitutional court ruled Wednesday. The top court ruled as
unconstitutional legislation that would have effectively forced persons
having sex changes to dissolve their marriages. The law only allows a sex
change by single people. . . . Germany's parliament was instructed to amend
the invalid law by August 1, 2009. Judges said parliament could prescribe
that the man's marriage be converted into a same-sex marriage. Germany
recognizes marriage-style unions between homosexuals."

7-21-08: GIDReform.org: "Blinded Me With Science: Sampling Error," by
Kelley Winters - "The
cornerstone of empirical science is elimination of bias by sampling data
that is representative of the population under study. However, the APA
relied on data from unrepresentative clinical populations to conclude that
all gender variant people, whose gender identity or expression vary from
their assigned birth sex roles, are mentally ill in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders rev. IV-TR. In fact, the
current diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder allows no possibility for the
existence of countless well-adjusted transsexual and gender variant people
already in society. The Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders work
group has an opportunity to replace stereotype with science in the DSM-V, to
base diagnostic nomenclature on sound data that is representative of real
gender variant people from non-clinical populations"

7-20-08: Trend News (re Hong Kong): "Television programme calls
transgender people "human monsters"" - "Television watchdogs were
investigating after transgender people were described as "human monsters" in
a Chinese language television programme, a media report said Sunday, the dpa
reported. The expression "yan yiu," which translates as "human
monster," was used 23 times during a report on transgender people in
Thailand broadcast by the ATV television station, the South China Morning
Post said. . . . Sam Winter, a professor at the University of Hong
Kong's faculty of education and also director of Transgender ASIA Research
Centre, said the use of the expression would damage Hong Kong's reputation
as a cosmopolitan city."

7-17-08:
CeskeNoviny (Czech Republic): "Sex change treatment should start in
adolescence - Czech experts"
- "The government working group for sexual minorities wants the bill on
special medical services to enable sex-change treatment to start being
applied to people under 18, Minister for human rights and ethnic minorities
Dzamila Stehlikova told CTK today." . . . "Some 40 sex-reassignment
operations are annually performed in the 10-million Czech Republic on the
basis of the patients' request. They must also be approved by an expert
commission."

"A Pyrrhic
Victory is one that has devastating consequences for victors. The
re-listing of SRS is, to be sure, a victory for the trans community, and
should be celebrated as such. But OHIP-funded SRS, left solely under the
iron fist of
CAMH’s Gender Identity Clinic, would be a devastating setback for the
trans health movement, one with consequences almost as dire as the original
1998 delisting of SRS. . . . "

7-10-08:
New York Times Movie Review: "XXY (2007): Confronting the Perils of Puberty
Squared" - "How must the world appear to someone who has been treated as
an exotic clinical specimen from birth? The moody, surreal “XXY” explores
the world of Alex (Inés Efron), an intersex teenager — born with both male
and female sex organs — navigating the treacherous emotional and hormonal
rapids of uncertain gender. . . . Under increasing pressure from her parents
to make a final decision about whether to live as a boy or a girl, she is
furiously reluctant to choose."

7-09-08:
IndyBayMedia: "Transgender rights talks from the fifth annual Trans Pride
March rally in Dolores Park" - "A significant amount of time in the four
hour TransMarch rally was spent in discussions of medical problems related
to the continued classification of transgender people in the DSM IV
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental illness) as a mental health
condition. The DSMIII had considered gay and lesbian people as having mental
illness, those diagnoses have since been eliminated. Activists burned a
copy of the manual on stage as a protest. . . .Transgender
activists are organizing to eliminate this diagnosis." (Ed: bold for
emphasis) (Comment: This article goes on to quote some of the language used
in the DSM re transpeople, and by simply quoting that language reveals how
incredibly stigmatizing it is).

7-08-08: The Times of India (India): "Transgender to play lead in
Tamil film" - "Young Karpaga, who makes her debut as a heroine in a
Tamil film, is understandably nervous. She is busy rehearsing her lines and
learning the nuances in the art of make-up, as the offer is not a passport
to fame and wealth, but a lifetime opportunity to join the mainstream of the
society. . . Karpaga, the heroine of ‘Paal', is the first transgender in the
country to don the leading role in a mainstream movie" (A special article
signaling change in India) (more)

"The appointment
of two Toronto doctors to a committee revising medical definitions of gender
identity has infuriated trans people across North America. . . .Trans
activists are also worried that
Kenneth Zucker
and Ray Blanchard
both work at the
Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), which will decide who is eligible
for sex reassignment surgery (SRS) once it is relisted under the Ontario
Health Insurance Plan."

COMMENT: As the
mainstream G/L media gets this story, Zucker and Blanchard are scurrying
like crazy to cover their tracks by having spokespersons deny Zucker's
trans-reparatism and Blanchard's defamatory trans-taxonomy. What a pathetic
act, eh?

"But as the
growing transgender community proves, biology is no longer destiny. Since
the transgender model April Ashley went public about her story in the 1970s,
the number of people transitioning from male to female, female to male or
simply living "in between" genders has increased considerably. . .
These and the many more ordinary transgendered people living in Britain
today are living proof that the outmoded idea of a biologically determined
male-female gender definition is beginning to look unhelpful and
inappropriate."

7-05-08: Times Online (UK): "How blue pills turned Heidi Krieger into
a man " - "It took many years for Andreas Krieger - the name Heidi chose
after her sex-change operation in 1997 - to discover what had been
perpetrated at the Dynamo Club. Top-secret documents relating to the
sporting system in East Germany were uncovered only after the fall of the
Berlin Wall in 1989 and it took almost a decade to excavate the full,
mind-bending story."